Eliot Marshall retiring from MMA to focus on teaching BJJ

Light heavyweight Eliot Marshall has decided he has set foot inside the ring for the final time as a competitor. The 31-year old won over viewers on the Ultimate Fighter 8 with his blend of humility and humor, finding moderate success inside the Octagon including victories over Vinny Magalhaes and Jason Brilz.

While Marshall will unfortunately not go out on a high note, losing a controversial decision to Brandon Vera this past October, the submission-specialist will certainly exit the sport with his head held high after realizing his true calling in life is as a BJJ instructor rather than world-class Mixed Martial Artist.

“For me, fighting, I wish I could have been champ, that would have been great. I would have made a lot of money; I would know what it means to be the best in the world,” explained Marshall of his retirement on MMAWeekly Radio. “Unfortunately, in pro sports that happens for a very few amount of people, and I got what I needed out of fighting.”

With his competitive desires fulfilled Marshall will now look to pay back everything he’s gotten out of MMA by sharing his knowledge and experience with others.

“I want to touch 10,000 lives and I can do that by helping people learn jiu-jitsu (and) spread a beautiful art,” Marshall continued, the topic turning towards his passion for BJJ and plan to help found a new fight team. “Jiu-jitsu changed my life. Literally everything I have is because of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I met my wife because of a job I got from working at the academy. Other than my family, everything I have is from jiu-jitsu.”

Marshall leaves MMA with an overall record of 10-4 including five submissions. He himself was never tapped out.